With 7 billion people living on the planet, it isn't exactly sustainable for every family to have more than one home, but the folks who own the Quinta da Baronesa get points for building theirs out of natural and recycled materials[1]! Asked to make it barely visible from the street, Studio Arthur Casas[2] gave the striking home a landscaped roof[3] and tall block entrance, and then chiseled the remaining naturally-lit rooms into rolling green hills overlooking a golf camp.

[4]

[5]

Bricks salvaged from a demolition project were used as the main building material for this project. Adding to its sustainability, the designers chose Cumaru hardwoods[6] to give the house a natural, minimalist finish[7]. Long narrow windows flood the interior with daylight, reducing the project’s overall energy load, while open terraces and horizontal louvers provide plenty of shade and mitigate excess solar gain[8].

While we don’t necessarily promote having second homes, if it is already a common practice among Brazilian families (and elsewhere), it may as well be done sustainably like the Quinta da Baronesa.